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Thursday, June 20, 2013

Dodgers' draft strategy isn't as high school-oriented as it's perceived

Since Logan White took over as scouting director (now vice
president of amateur scouting and assistant general manager), the Dodgers have
been known for drafting high school players.

White’s first draft pick was James Loney in 2002, a high
school first baseman (who some viewed as a pitcher) from Texas.

While White’s crew has selected prep players in the first
round (and supplemental first round) 13 of 19 times, it seems the philosophy
has changed -- especially in recent years.

Here it is in table form.

Year

College

HS

HS%

2013

31

9

22.5%

2012

26

14

35.0%

2011

36

14

28.0%

2010

32

18

36.0%

2009

30

21

41.2%

2008

26

19

42.2%

2007

19

20

51.3%

2006

21

29

58.0%

2005

25

26

51.0%

2004

30

22

42.3%

2003

14

36

72.0%

2002

22

30

57.7%

Total

312

258

45.3%

As you can see, there has been fluctuation in the types of
players drafted by White. But never had he drafted high schoolers less than 40
percent of the time before 2010. That’s been the norm for the last four years,
capped with just 22.5 percent high schoolers drafted this year. And the team has drafted more college players than high schooler players since 2002.

Three of White’s last five first-round picks have been college players:

In White’s first draft, he selected 30 high schoolers compared to 22 college players. In 2003, he selected 36 prep players compared to just 14 college players. That would be the highest percentage of high school draftees in any White draft. This year, the Dodgers drafted 31 college players and just nine high schoolers -- a drastic shift.

Some say it could be the new ownership having a say about
who to draft (i.e. Stan Kasten), some say the team wants guys who are closer
to the majors. While I’m not against drafting players who are closer to the majors,
I am against passing on higher-ceiling prospects for lower-floor guys. I know
those guys are a must in all farm systems, but it seems the Dodgers took that
too much to heart in this year’s draft.

Cody Bellinger was the team’s only high school draftee in
the first 10 rounds, and they didn’t select a prep pitcher until the 13th round
(Ty Damron). That’s unheard of for White and Co.

The Dodgers had a poor farm system from the late 1990s until
White took over. Guys like Chin-Feng Chen, Angel Pena and Ben Diggins were among the team's top prospects. In just three years, White made the Dodgers a Top 5 farm
system in baseball for a number of years. Once the draft philosophy shifted from prep to college,
the farm system’s overall ranking went down. It could be coincidence or it could be the
fact ex-owner Frank McCourt hamstrung the Dodgers’ spending. But the fact is,
the Dodgers haven’t been a Top 15 farm system in since graduating Clayton Kershaw during the 2008 season. after being a
perennial Top 6 system for four years in a row in the mid-2000s.

There’s nothing wrong with drafting college players, but college
players – unless choosing near the top of the draft -- offer less upside than
high school players in most cases. Most college guys offer little projection
but more present-day value.

I’m partial to high school talent. I wanted the team to take
Ian Clarkin (who just signed with the Yankees) instead of Anderson. But I’ve
warmed up to Anderson. The team had to go nearly $300,000 more than slot to
sign its lone prep draftee in the first 10 rounds in Bellinger. Other than
those two, the Dodgers didn’t draft guys with much impact potential. That’s
thanks in large part to the poor draft class but also because they didn’t take
nearly enough chances.

There’s some maneuvering with the new Collective Bargaining
Agreement. The Dodgers landed Ross Stripling in the fifth round last year for
nearly $100,000 less than slot. Fast forward a year and Stripling is an easy
Top 10 prospect in the system and more likely a Top 5 guy. He’s the exception,
not the rule.

Here’s hoping the Dodgers and White get back to their high
school-drafting ways. While the 2012 draft looks like it could be one of the best in White's tenure, the 2013 draft could go down as his most lackluster.

6 comments:

You think this recent draft has anything to do with slot money? Seems like to get a high school guy to give up college commitments, frequently you're forced to go over slot, particularly lower in the first round and in later rounds.

Can't explain some other drafts--nor skipping Clarkin--but it seems like slot money can handicap doing something like a Lee signing, since going over by that much can give you a huge penalty.

well, teams like the bluejays seems to have figured out the draft game, e.g. sign high floor, low ceiling types in the first ten rounds and then pocketing that money for higher ceiling high school guys in the latter rounds. seems like there's not really been a logic or pattern behind the way the Dodgers have drafted in the brave new screw the players world of slot money.

this is a question I posed to Chad and I guess maybe over all of the MLB is something that's a bit too daunting to do but with the preoccupation that Logan White seems to have with drafting bloodline players, is there any research out there showing that that bloodline players on average are more likely to graduate to the majors?